The present invention relates to metal office furniture, and more particularly to decorative covers for metal office furniture.
Metal office furniture is one of the backbones of the office environment. Exemplary pieces include file cabinets, desks, and drawer pedestals. Metal office furniture is fabricated of steel and then painted, making it both functional and durable.
Several negative issues are related to metal office furniture. First, the appearance of such furniture typically is regarded as tolerable rather than attractive. For example, a large bank of filing cabinets presents a sea of uniform color, such as beige or gray.
Second, the colors with which the furniture is painted go out of style. To change color, it is necessary either to purchase new furniture or to repaint existing furniture. The first option is undesirably expensive, and the second option is undesirably inconvenient.
Third, the finishes of metal furniture occasionally are scratched or otherwise marred, so that they are unsightly. In such cases, it is necessary to replace the furniture (or at least the damaged components) or to repaint the furniture (or at least the damaged components).
Fourth, when an office buys additional or replacement office furniture, one challenge is matching the color of the new office furniture to the existing furniture. The new office furniture may be made by a different manufacturer offering different colors, or may be made by the same manufacturer no longer offering the old colors. Even if a color is still made by the previous manufacturer, the new office furniture may not match the existing furniture due to fading, different dye runs of paint, or changes in the manufacturing process, such as switching from a wet paint to a powdercoat.